6 exciting programs you and your child don’t wanna miss at Minggu Sains Negara

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Open and Distance Learning (ODL). While the word may not resonate much with people who are working, students might be rolling their eyes seeing this because it simply reminds them of the endless hours of online classes and teachers asking if you’re present. And it’s only typical to feel really, REALLY worn out after every class.

But, hey. Learning doesn’t ALWAYS have to be 🥱 boring 🥱 . In fact, we heard that the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI) is organising some fun online activities for the Minggu Sains Negara!

Happening from the 1st to 7th April 2021, MOSTI aims to instill the passion for science in students – be it in school or even university – through this programme. It also aims to attract educators, youth, communities, NGOs, people from public or private sectors… well, basically EVERYONE reading this la, ok?

And as we mentioned earlier, there are a LOT of activities for you to check out like…

1. The Humanoid Robot Competition where you can win up to RM5,000!

One of the most intriguing activities at Minggu Sains Negara is the Humanoid Robot Competition. If you’re thinking of Sophia the robot when you see the word humanoid, then you probably can guess what the competition is all about.

However, for those who don’t, humanoid robots are basically robots that could imitate the movements of human beings including speaking, interacting with their environment, and performing simple tasks. You can check out the video below to see how Sophia, for instance, interact.

But, don’t worry. MOSTI is not expecting y’all to create another Sophia for the Humanoid Robot Competition. Instead, MOSTI would be looking at the functionality of the robot that you build.

The robot that you build should not be bigger than 60cm and should be able to pass four challenges like the…

Obstacle challenges
Lifting and transporting items
A penalty kick
Free movement

If you’re keen to participate in this competition, you can start building your robots but be sure to also write a report on it besides filming your project according to the competition’s terms and regulations. Interestingly, you stand a chance of winning up to RM5,000 when you participate in this competition. You can learn more about it here and register to be a participant here. Hurry, though, because the competition ends on 6th April 2021!

However, if you’re not the robotic kinda person but still love to invent stuff, fret not. MOSTI has another competition that might pique your interest – the Low Touch High Impact (LOTHI) competition.

The main aim of LOTHI is to identify innovations or designs that can benefit society, especially those who are living in rural areas or the disabled community.

MOSTI also aims to recognise inventions and their creators in Malaysia through this competition. This competition is open for primary up to university students, so don’t forget to register here!

2. Spark X where you can enhance your technical and marketing skills

If you’re between the age of 18 and 25, MOSTI has a special 3-day program for you – the Spark X. This program will help equip participants in three fields…

Basics of Design Thinking
Basics of Website Building
Basics of Digital Marketing with Social Media

In this program, participants will be divided into groups of three to discuss an idea, build a social media and website besides planning on marketing strategies before pitching those ideas to a panel of judges. The judges would then pick the most interesting idea and the winning team would stand a chance to bring home various exciting prizes!

Waitamin. Aren’t these skills familiar?

Well, if you think so, that’s because these are some important skills required and are commonly looked for by employers in various jobs. And MOSTI is using this program as a platform to equip participants with these skills so that participants will be more employable in the future.

Having said that, if you’re looking to grab this golden opportunity, you can chup a spot in this program by registering here. Psstt! Y’all better hurry ah because the program is only limited to 36 participants only! And it’s FREE.

3. Superhero Magic Junior for kids who love experiments!

Do you have kids who love to experiment on almost anything you have at home? Well, MOSTI, in collaboration with the Department of Chemistry Malaysia, now has a solution just for you. 😉

You can bring your mini scientists to the Superhero Magic Junior program on the 3rd April 2021 from 2pm to 4pm. Don’t forget to register here!

There are live science shows at Superhero Magic Junior program that won’t only let your kids learn science but teach them how to try out the experiments safely at home too!

Aside from that, there are other interesting activities like colouring, making TikTok videos with the theme of science for health, a Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) program, Rainforest Kids Challenge, and many more!

Oh, how can we forget the most intriguing activity any kids would definitely wait for – the Rocketeer program, where kids will learn the basic theories to build a rocket! This program features Khawarizmi, Malaysia’s youngest Rocketeer who’s only 11 years old.

If you’re interested in this program, you can register here!

4. Science for Health and knowledge on vaccines

Just in case we didn’t cover this yet, the theme for this year’s Minggu Sains Negara is Science for Health, and MOSTI prepared a lot of activities related to this theme like Chemistry as The Saviour of Mankind, Women in Zcience, and many more!

But with the current pandemic, one activity that caught our attention is the Pre-Clinical Study of Vaccine Production. That’s because, if you’re curious cats like us, you would also be wondering how vaccines are made, right?

Aside from what’s listed in the poster, there are various other health seminars and forums like the Health in the Tropics seminar.

5. Interactive exhibitions that are open to the public all week long!

If you’re just looking for things to do for the week, MOSTI gotcha back too. There are various exhibitions that you can check out for the week like the Petrosains booth or the nuclear exhibition by the Malaysian Nuclear Agency.

There are plenty of other things that you can do throughout the week too and you can check them out here:

6. Giveaways that are worth up to RM280,000!

Ok ok, we heard ya. If you’re not as innovative or creative to participate in any of the aforementioned competitions, don’t worry. MOSTI has something for y’all – giveaways!

The first giveaway is particularly for school students. Any school that participates in this giveaway with the most entries will stand a chance to win educational kits and STEM equipment worth up to RM280,000! There are four categories for this giveaway – boarding schools, Gred A schools, Sekolah Aliran Agama, and Sekolah Kurang Murid.

Not a school student? No problemo. You can just register for the general giveaway to win education kits and STEM equipment worth RM100!

Curious to find out what is in it? Register now and prepare to be amazed.

So, watchu waiting for? Join NOW!

Seeing as to how the Minggu Sains Negara is conducted ONLINE this year, everybody can simply take part in this event! If you’re curious to know more about the programs available at Minggu Sains Negara, you can just check them out or, better yet, register here.